Koichi Hamada

President Barack Obama will nominate Janet Yellen as chairman of the Federal Reserve, which would put the world’s most powerful central bank in the hands of a key architect of its unprecedented stimulus program and the first female leader in its 100-year history.

Global stocks rose for the first time in five days, commodities gained and Treasuries slid as U.S. reports showed consumer confidence reached the highest level since 2008 and home values jumped the most in seven years.

Koichi Hamada, an economic adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, told South Korea to adjust its own monetary policies if officials are concerned at the effects of a yen weakened by unprecedented easing.

The yen weakened as stocks advanced after an adviser to Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the nation’s central bank can add to its unprecedented stimulus if necessary to support an economic revival.

The Bank of Japan may pack a bigger punch under Haruhiko Kuroda, an opponent of deflation who ran the nation’s currency policy and then built an international reputation leading the Asian Development Bank.

The Bank of Japan could usher in a growth spurt unseen in a generation by stepping up stimulus and ending deflation, according to Haruhiko Kuroda, the head of the Asian Development Bank and a potential contender for BOJ chief.

U.S. stocks closed at a five-year high and Treasuries rose for the fifth time in six days as investors weighed prospects for a short-term lift in the U.S. debt ceiling. The yen traded at a 2 1/2-year low.